Dracula: A New Tale
by Lesliezin
Summary: Over one-hundred years after the death of his beloved Elora, the Transylvania prince still rules his lands but not as he once had. Many have come to try and slay the creature, but all have failed. Now a group of famed Vampire Hunters have come led by none other then Van Helsing, but Van Helsing's own niece is the mirror image of Dracula's beloved. DraculaXOC
1. The Story Thus Far

**Hello all, **

**Thank you for giving this story a try, and I hope you enjoy it. First off I do not own Dracula or Van Helsing. The only thing I own is the OC. Secondly I often have what I call an Author's Note after each chapter to explain anything that I feel may be unclear or of controversy in the story. Lastly please note the rating is set at T for violence and such but in later chapters it will go to M so please be aware of that if you are adverse to reading M rated stories. **

**So now without further ado the first of many chapters.**

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><p><em>There are many tales of Dracula all hold some truth but not the whole story. The legends and tales never come through time unscathed as my uncle would say. No one is absolutely certain of the tale of Dracula or how he came to be. One of the more absurd stories claims he is the one that betrayed Christ. However there is one defining detail in all the tales, that never changes. The death of his beloved that pushes him to his downfall. Some claim he went to battle and she was told he died, so she committed suicide. Others claim she was murdered by his advisor's, or that she fell ill and died before his return.<em>

_And yet there is another tale that claims something darker happened. It is this tale many believe far more then others. The year was 1453 a year war and bloodshed. From the lands of Constantinople an army was poised to invade Romania, and a young Romanian prince rose to face this threat. Led by a greedy Sultan who desired to conquer much of the lands and destroy Christianity demanded oaths of fealty and a thousand boys to serve in his army. Most did not dare question the Sultan and rather then face war most agreed to his demands. However the young prince did refuse for he was a kind loving ruler. The Sultan took this as a sign of defiance, to punish the young prince the Sultan made another demand one he would regret. The young prince's bride was beautiful and had caught Sultan's eye, and so he demanded the prince give her up to him._

_This time the prince outright refused the Sultans crude demands. The Sultan swore to return with his army and claim both the thousand boys and the prince's bride. Time was short and the prince knew he had to act fast, but how to fight the invaders to his lands? For this he went in search of a power to destroy his enemies and protect his people and bride. There were dark rumours of a creature with the power he sought, and so he sought it out. No one knows where or how he found the creature, but when he returned he was no longer a man, but a monster. With his new found power he laid waste to his enemies, and any that dared to try and come for his bride or harm his people._

_However many began to see the evil in him that this power presented, and some had far more foolish ideas on where that power came from. The advisor's that served the young prince whispered that his bride must be a witch that cast a spell on him. No sooner did they whisper, the people began to whisper the same. Like most of the tales this is where tragedy struck. While the young prince battled the Sultan and Turks far away, many called for the witch's death. It was inevitable and sad what came next, the prince's knights were slaughtered as they try to defend their princess, and she was to die a witch's death._

_She was tied to a stake in the village square outside the castle, and gagged so she could not cast spells. They condemned her to the flames and when the gag was burned away only then was she able to scream. An instance later her prince heard her cries and appeared in the square just in time to see her die. The prince flew into a rage and slaughtered all who stood and watched his beloved burn including his advisor's who tried to tell him she had cast a spell on him. He found his trusted captain nearly beaten to death and dying not far away, and turned him._

_That day the gentle prince died for he vowed vengeance and death on those that dare cross him. Darkness and fear descended on the lands, the Turks that survived abandoned their Sultan and fled back to their lands deeming Transylvania as a cursed land. The Sultan and any still with him were slaughtered, along with any that dare challenge the dark prince. The people he once protected now called him Dracula, and had forgotten his true name with time._

_This could be how Dracula came to be, or perhaps it is only partially true, no one but Dracula knows. However it is the story that seems most likely and is most accepted. __If it is so it was sadly not the end of it but the beginning, for Dracula spread his curse far and wide. _

_It spread like a wild fire across Europe, and so Vampire Hunters rose to combat the spread of it. The greatest of these hunters was Abraham Van Helsing. Together with his band of hunters he has made it his life's pursuit to stop the spread of Dracula's curse. I however follow my Uncle for another reason, revenge. My name is Lecura Winters, and I am a vampire hunter. I care not for the stories and legends about Dracula, only that he is the monster that spread this disease and I want him dead._

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><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>

**Thank you for looking in on my story but before you write a review please allow me to explain what I am doing. This Dracula fanfiction is not a fanfiction of just one movie but several, it will take elements from all the Dracula movies we know and love and from other Vampire movies as well. I was inspired by the upcoming movie Dracula Untold staring Luke Evans and another movie gave me the idea for this story called Dracula The Dark Prince. If interested in watching the dark prince it can be viewed on youtube. While it is not a major blockbuster movie I still like it and recommend it. **

**I had considered all the great stars that portrayed Dracula and Van Helsing and while I do love the ones that played them I decided to go with something outside the box per say. Do not worry it is still a fanfiction, after all I do not own Dracula or the movies that inspired this story. So I have come up with a 'new cast' of people that I envision as being in this story and being certain characters. Now before anyone gets angry I am with you guys I think Luke Evans is HOT and will be awesome as Dracula, but I did not want to do a fanfiction for Dracula Untold and mess up. Because the movie is not out yet I have nothing to go on as far as writing a fanfiction based off of that movie. I need a bit of context to pull from for that, I need to see his personality in the movie, and also how the movie goes. I do not want to write Luke Evan's character out of character and go to the movies and think: 'Oh no I totally messed that up!' When I see the movie only then will I go for writing a fanfiction on that movie.**

**For now I mentioned a new cast, and will explain my choices:**

**Dracula/Vlad Tepes- Richard Armitage**

**Abraham Van Helsing- Nicolas Cage**

**Elora/ Lecura Winters- Original Character (OC)**

**Rorke- Ron Perlman**

**Thrask- Mathew Macfadyen**

**Demetri- Luke Roberts**

**Cordric- Billy Burke**

**Morris- Ray Winstone**

**Wesley- Jay Baruchel**

**Captain Aiden- Mads Mikkelsen**

**Advisor Femris- Charles Dance**

**More cast or characters may be added later, for now I think I got the main group down. Not all the character will appear right off the bat. Now to explain my choices Richard Armitage is the actor who played Thorin in the Hobbit and Guy of Gisborn in the BBC tv series of Robin Hood. For those that watched Robin Hood and saw Guy, he looks like he would fit perfectly. I picked him because one I think him HOT and he I think would be an amazing Dracula. He can play both good and dark roles so it is not just because he is good looking though it helps. **

**Next I chose Nicolas Cage for Van Helsing, often we see an old man playing the character either that or Hugh Jackman take your pick. While Nicolas Cage is an older actor he is not so old that he can not keep up. I wanted a slightly younger person to play Van Helsing without the readers going: 'Oh god he is too young.' Besides that I could honestly see Nicolas Cage portraying Van Helsing and making it amazing so there you go.**

**Next are a group of characters made up but I have picked out people I could see playing the roles and it helps to have that mental image to work with. I won't say what their roles are in the story because I do not want to spoil it. So I will instead go down the list of actors and tell you what they have been in to avoid you having to do a search, okay? First is Ron Perlman he has played in the Hellboy movies as the main character. He was also in 'In the name of the King', and 'Conan' to name a few. Mathew Macfadyen he was Athos in the Three Musketeers which should say it all to the Luke Evans fans because he was in that movie too. **

**Luke Roberts is the man that plays Dracula in the movie I mentioned before Dracula the Dark Prince, he is mostly in Tv shows, but has also played a captain of the guard in the latest pirates of the Caribbean movie, and a butcher in 300: Rise of an Empire. Billy Burke is the actor from the Twilight Saga he plays Charlie Swan Bella's father and is in Red Riding Hood as Valerie's father. Needless to say he is an excellent actor. Ray Winstone is the actor who has played in Beowulf as Beowulf. He was also in King Arthur as one of the knights Bors and the last Indiana Jones movie. Jay Baruchel he is the actor with a unique voice used for Hiccup in the How to Train your Dragons movies, he is also in the Sorcerer's apprentice with Nicolas Cage. Mads Mikkelsen is yet another actor from the Three Musketeers he plays Rochefort, and in the Clash of the Titans he plays Draco. Lastly is Charles Dance he is Tywin Lannister in the popular T.V show Game of Thrones, and is also in Dracula Untold though with all that make-up you may not recognise him. **

**Alright so I got them all covered and this is the longest Author's notes I have EVER written. Oh one more thing I had considered going with the name Mirena the name of Dracula's wife in the new Untold movie or another name of Dracula's love from one of the other movies. However I figured I am already doing something completely new, so Elora sounded good. For those that have read my stories before you know I like my off the wall names. Anyway that said I better just state a few more things and finish this Author's Note. So to clarify this is a fanfiction that will take elements and plots from all the movies, but is a new approach and is not a crossover. Okay now I am done, please review away and I hope you like this new approach.**

**Please Review away. Opinions, thoughts, ideas.**


	2. On the Hunt

**Hello all,**

**Well hopefully you liked the first chapter, and will equally like the second. So here it goes..**

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><p><strong>1562<strong>

**The streets of France...**

It was a night like any other though hardly a peaceful one. The moon shown down on the empty streets, and the cool crisp air blew gently. A pair stood in the alley holding their breaths and listening hard. Beneath her hood Lecura wanted to roll her eyes, Wesley was fidgeting again with excitement and an inability to hold still. Again she reached up and gripped his shoulder to force him still, and again the young man froze. Wesley was a thin wiry young man with black curly hair, and their newest recruit eager to prove himself, but her uncle was certain he would get used to the life. Hopefully her uncle was right or the kid would not last long in this line of work. Again the silence stretched before them and the minutes ticked by, then the low animal like growl. Even before hearing Rorke yell out, Lecura was running forward with Wesley not far behind. "Lec one is heading your way!"

Rushing to the end of the alley, Lecura kicked over a stack of crates that their quarry ran into. Then pulled a blade as she moved to attack the vampire that now hissed at her baring it's fangs. The vampire leapt to it's feet and rushed at her outraged that she had prevented it's escape.

"Lecura!" Wesley yelled as she was pushed back against the wall of one of the buildings, but before he could react the creature gave a gurgled cry then burst to dust.

"No gawking kid!" Lecura berated as she turned towards the rest of their crew, the trap had been sprung. Moving towards the group fighting even more vampires, Lecura gripped her blades before dashing forward to join the fray. Amidst the fight Morris, a heavier set older guy with short grey hair and an attitude problem; was barely keeping a female from biting into him.

"Get this bitch off of me!" He yelled, however Lecura merely stabbed her from behind turning her into a cloud of dust. Coughing and now covered in dust Morris yelled. "I said get her off, not dust her!"

"You are welcome!" Lecura replied not bothering to give him a backwards glance. Fighting her way to Thrask, a younger man with dark brown shoulder length hair and goatee; the man had just knocked another vampire to the ground and stabbed him before facing her. "Did you signal him?"

"Doing that now." Thrask answered as he pulled a pistol and shot it into the air. Then they resumed fighting their foes and paying little attention as the last of their group joined the battle. Of course Lecura always seemed to know just when Abraham would join the fight for it felt like the tide had changed and she felt a boast in strength and confidence. She was unsure if others viewed it like that, but for her she just knew they would win when they fought by his side. Moving to avoid a slash by another vampire Lecura sidestepped then delivered a lethal blow to the creature. While vampires were stronger and could be equally fast, they were not a blur of speed, or impossible to kill. After all she had been killing them most of her life.

Before they knew it the group was dwindling down since most in their group were well trained and skilled fighters. It was only Wesley that seemed to have problems as he was on the ground trying to keep a vampire from biting him. Lecura moved to help him since she drew the short stick and was on safeguarding the new recruit duty. However she barely took a step when the vampire was dusted and Wesley sat up coughing and covered in vampire holding a blade. "Heh looks like there is a fighter in him after all." Cordric a slightly older man with shoulder length brown hair spoke up getting the others to laugh.

"Anyone bitten?" Everyone turned to face their leader who was doing a head count. Abraham Van Helsing or Uncle Abe was what Lecura called him was older but at times he hardly looked very old, he had shoulder length dark hair with a few grey streaks, wore a long trench coat and hat and loved his crossbow 'Mina'. "Nope, though Morris and the virgin are covered in dust." Lecura answered

"Consider the dusting his cherry being popped." Rorke a tall guy that towered over Lecura and had short grey hair laughed. To Lecura he kind of looked like he had ape like features, or maybe it was because he did a funny monkey impression.

"I need a drink." Morris groaned.

"Better have two or three baths first there Morris." Lecura joined in the teasing.

"Really? We need two or three baths?" Wesley asked.

"Well no not you. You will only need one bath I am sure. Morris will need three for the smell." Lecura teased gaining more laughed.

"Ha Ha Very funny!" Morris grumbled.

"You know she is only thinking of what is best." Rorke stated, then grinned, "For the rest of us."

"Alright enough teasing. We have done enough hunting for the night, best to get back to the Inn." Abraham said interrupting the groups playful banter. The group of hunters gathered their gear and began heading back to the Inn eager to rest and relax.

Back at the Inn the group stowed their gear in their rooms, even though it was only two of their members that got dust covered all of them went for a bath as hunting vampires one could work up a sweat. Lecura also took a bath, and dressed in some fresh clothes. Often she wore trousers and dressed more like a man then a lady, then again hunting vampires dresses were a hindrance unless acting the role of bait. Dressed in black trousers, boots, and an off white tunic Lecura ran her fingers through her dark blood red hair as she looked in the mirror. A pair of dark jade piercing eyes looked back set in a pale but beautiful face. Lastly she picked up her belt with her sheathed blades and put them back on, never was she without some type of weapon on her person.

Heading downstairs she could already hear the raucous of laughter coming from the hunters in her group. As always her uncle saved her a spot by him and she sat down and ordered an ale while Demetri who was usually in competition with Thrask for who could be the most silent was telling Wesley that killing vampires becomes easier with time. The man was a little older with shoulder length pale blonde hair, to Lecura he was the charmer of their little group. Actually each member had a specific designation in her eyes. Abraham was the leader and father figure, Rorke was Abraham's right hand man. Morris was a heavy hitter, but also the resident complainer, Thrask was the strong silent fighter, Cordric was their master weapon-smith, and lastly their latest recruit Wesley was to be their physician and backup.

This left her, though what she was to the rest of the group she was not sure. She played several roles in the group starting with the 'actress' or the 'bait' where she pretended to be a naïve maiden to lure vampires out. She also had some knowledge of first aid, and was Abraham's 'advisor' aside from Rorke. Her other roles was as support and was rather fond of knives. Morris teased her by calling her knife girl, so perhaps that was how the rest of them viewed her. Apparently she was to take up the role of advisor in that moment for her uncle wanted her opinion and as soon as she sat down he turned in his chair to her. "Lec what do you think?"

"Of what uncle?"

"Wesley, Rorke says he is a little new but will do fine. Thoughts?" Abraham asked. Taking in the looks she received she knew her decision would be the deciding factor. The kid was new to this, but considering tonight and how well he did, he would grow into it.

"I agree with Rorke little new but still good." Lecura replied as she saw her uncle nod and look at Wesley.

"Alright, test him Lec." Taking a drink of her ale the barmaid had just set in front of her, Lecura looked at Wesley.

"Wesley name the three different types of vampires." Lecura started, Wesley swallowed hard then answered.

"There are common vampires, nobles, and then there is the master vampire."

"Very good, now common vampires explain them. How are they made? What are their strengths and weaknesses? And how do they differ from nobles and the master?" Lecura asked.

"Common Vampires or Nosferatu from the Greek term nosophoros meaning 'plague carrier'. Are lesser vampires bitten by a noble or other common vampire. They inherit the strength and speed of a noble or common vampire depending on who does the biting. However they lack some of the other carried powers nobles and the master have, and are therefore weaker then higher ranked vampires. For instance they can not compel or charm, or change their physical form. They are highly susceptible to fire, silver, stakes, crosses, and sun." Wesley stated.

"Well done, now a Noble vampire explain them." Lecura said taking a drink.

"Nobles are a higher breed of vampire created by the master vampire they are not as powerful as the master but they inherit more powers then the common vampire. They are stronger and faster then commons, but can also charm or compel their victims to an extent. However if their victim has a strong enough will they can resist a noble. However that is the extent of their abilities they do not have the shape changing abilities of the master vampire. Like the common though they can be killed and are susceptible to fire, silver, stakes, crosses, and sun. However they are harder to kill then the common vampire."

"Good you know the common and noble classed vampires, now what about the master Vampire?" Lecura asked.

"It is believed there is only one master vampire, Dracula. The most powerful vampire out there. His strength and speed are unmatched to other vampires and humans. He can also change forms into animals, and can compel or charm his victims to do his will. It is believed if charmed or compelled no amount of willpower will allow the person to break away from his will. There is also rumours that he can hear your thoughts and speak in your mind, but again it is not proven. There is also no proof that he suffers the same weaknesses as nobles, or common vampires. Rumour claims he has been shot, stabbed, hung, burned, and left in the sun; yet he still lives."

"Alright he knows the vampires." Abraham nodded, "Continue Lec."

"Wesley what are the cardinal rules for a hunter?"

"Never look a vampire in the eyes, you never know when you will face a noble or even Dracula himself. The windows to the soul is how vampires charm and compel people. Never hunt alone often vampires come in pairs or more. Never drink before a hunt begins it dulls the mind and slows the senses, a hunter has to have all his faculties about him or her. And at night always be aware of your surroundings and keep your weapons handy." Wesley answered and received another nod from Lecura.

"Oh she is going easy on him." Morris teased, and Lecura raised a brow at him.

"Well if you are going to complain you ask him." Lecura replied and received grumbles from Morris.

"Kid what do you do if your comrade is bitten by any type of vampire? How long do you have to make a decision?" Morris asked.

"Sadly the only thing to be done for a comrade that is bitten is to end his suffering before the change takes effect. The change takes about several hours to take effect, but there is no cure." Wesley said, and Morris grumbled about the kid being a know-it-all.

"What are the other methods for becoming a vampire?" Thrask spoke up.

"The most common method is to be bitten by any three vampire class, but in order to create nobles the person must be bitten by Dracula, or for a noble to create another noble the person must be bitten then drink of the noble that did the biting."

"What happens if bitten by Dracula then he has you drink his blood?" Lecura asked.

"Ah trick question, no one knows what would happen in that scenario. Some think the person would become like Dracula with the same powers, but no one knows for sure." Wesley said confidently, and Lecura nodded then looked to Abraham. Seeing a light sparkle in her uncle's eyes, Lecura hid her smile behind her mug as Abraham looked disappointed.

"I am sorry kid." He started to say as Wesley went pale and looked heartbroken, then Abraham grinned, "but you passed! Welcome aboard."

The rest of the group burst out laughing and Rorke playfully shoved Wesley. "He had ya didn't he?"

The laughing continued as they drank and ate while Lecura pulled out a book and drew in it with a piece of charcoal. Finally a question posed by their latest addition sobered and silenced the joyful mood. Wesley had asked how they all became hunters, for most of the group it was a touchy subject. Morris was the first to set his mug down a little roughly stating. "I will start. Listen up kid I first came into this business when my brother and I were hired as bodyguards for this pompous nobleman. We were to take him on this business trip and travelling through these woods when we found this pretty girl claiming she had gotten lost. Now the noble had no problem letting the girl ride with him in the carriage, but we knew what he was going to want from her. My brother and I were torn we did not want the girl to come to harm, but we were paid to protect this fat noble. We continued on until there is a thud from inside the carriage, my brother snapped thinking the noble was assaulting her and stopped the carriage, he got down and yanked the door open."

Morris stopped to take a drink then continued. "Was not the girl we needed to be worried about but what she was. Our patron is on the floor of his carriage the girl drinking his blood from a nasty gash. My brother was stunned and stood no chance when the girl attacked him next. That was when this lot came and saved my hide before the girl could get me next."

Wesley starred stunned at Morris as he took another drink. "Oh don't look so shocked kid. You think any of our stories are sunshine and roses? My story is no better or worse then theirs, each of us ended up drawing the short end of the stick when it comes down to how we got here."

Wesley looked around at each of them wondering what their stories were. Some were less inclined to share as it was too personal or was too painful to talk about Lecura was one of them that was not about to talk about how she came to be there. Fortunately before Wesley could ask anyone else for their story a small servant girl came up with her dark hair tied in a bun under a coif. She had a heavy thick French accent. "Monsieur Van Helsing?"

Abraham turned in his seat and looked up to the girl. "Yes?"

"I have been sent by the Royal Physician. Monsieur Michel De Nostradame. He requests your presence immediately." The girl answered.

"I am afraid your lord will have to wait until dawn, it is not safe to travel the streets at night." Abraham replied, "And I do not travel alone at night either."

"Oui monsieur which is why my lord asks for you and those you travel with." The girl explained, "My lord said to tell you he knows how to end the master to the beasts you hunt."

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><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>

**Do not worry I promise this will not be as lengthy as the first chapter's Author's Notes. I did research to hopefully avoid historical mistakes, but hopefully I made none. Mainly this chapter was to introduce those that the OC works with and Van Helsing. It could also be viewed as a means of explaining this version of vampires since it varies from movie to movie. I tried to fit as many elements from different movies to make a vampire without bordering on the ridiculous. Hopefully I managed that.**

**Anyway hope you all enjoy and hope to hear from you in the Reviews.**


	3. A Prediction Too Good to Pass up

Hello** all,**

**Glad you are enjoying the story so far, so here is chapter 3.**

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><p>The home of Michel De Nostradame or as he preferred Nostradamus sat in the richer part of town, where Lecura thought pompous nobles would not be caught dead outside of. It was still before dawn when the girl led them to a large stately home not far from the royal castle. Obviously the royal physician had to be close at hand should the royal family need him. On entering the large manor they came into a spacious foyer beautifully furnished with carpets, sculptures, bookshelves, and much more. There was little time to take in the circular room the group stood in, for the servant girl called up the stairs to the head house mistress. "Milady, I have brought Monsieur Nostradame's guests."<p>

"Lead them to the study, my lord will join you there shortly." The older woman called down. So the younger one led them into an adjoining room. In this room, the group were left alone as they looked about the room which had bookshelves against each walls, but not all of them held books, some held cases of herbs, as well as things used in alchemy, others had scrolls. Against the window was a desk covered in papers and scrolls. Lecura looked over the desk and saw a small silver case, curious she picked it up and opened it. Inside was two cameo portraits painted, one of a beautiful young woman and the other of a little boy and girl. Setting it down they heard the door open and an older man slowly came in with the help of a cane and the head mistress. Once in the room he almost fell into his chair, and the woman took her place in the corner.

"Monsieur Van Helsing?" The older man asked looking over the men in her group.

"Here." Abraham came forward to stand before the older man.

"Please take a seat." Michel Nostradame said and as soon as Van Helsing took a seat Michel looked to his other guests. "Greetings to you all, I am Michel Nostradamus. I apologise for summoning you here at this late hour, but I feel this is too important to wait."

Nostradamus looked to Abraham. "I know how to defeat the master of these beasts, Dracula. I have foreseen how he will be stopped."

"Oh wait I remember where I have heard your name, you are the crack-pot claiming to know the future." Morris spoke up.

"Every prophecy my lord has predicted has come true!" The house mistress said taking offence, but Morris scoffed at the idea shaking his head and muttering that all this was a waste of time.

"Morris shut up." Abraham said then turned back to Nostradamus, "Go on."

"A maiden will rise from a poor forgotten family. She will win the heart of the beast upon first sight. Look for her under the Eclipsing blood moon, before first frost. In the forsaken lands of Transylvania long since called cursed. Only with her will the beast's terror end." Nostradamus said. Unfortunately the cryptic prophecy made Abraham shake his head, he did not want cryptic messages that left him chasing after ghosts. This was a waste of time, no one could defeat Dracula why had they expected some prophet to know the answer.

"You expect us to hunt down Dracula with no hope other then a prophecy about some girl?" Abraham asked then rose to his feet, "We will need a lot more then that to defeat Dracula."

"This is the only way to defeat Dracula, beauty taming the beast. Only then will Dracula be stopped." Nostradamus replied annoyed by their lack of belief.

"A mere girl will be nothing to Dracula! This will only get people killed! We need more than a girl to beat Dracula, we need a miracle from heaven itself!" Abraham replied frustrated, "Unless there is some sacred cross or holy relic all we can do now is beat back his minions!"

The group made to leave the prophet and return to their Inn when Nostradamus rose from his seat. "Do you think I called you here to mock you?! I want that beast stopped just as much as all of you! You want proof I am not some crack-pot? Here it is!"

He then pointed at Morris, "You had to kill your own brother after that girl attacked him. And you..." He then pointed at Thrask, "You came home to find your wife in bed with another man, only it was not a man at all, and had that vampire not charmed your beloved she would have never touched him."

Nostradamus then looked to Rorke, "They were not your family but you loved that farmer's family like they were your own until those vampire's came. I know their youngest daughter was like a sister to you and at night you are haunted by her screams. I know each and every one of your stories, want to hear mine?! Hmmm?!" He then pointed at Lecura, "You there girl, you were looking at something on my desk. It was a silver case with two painted portraits."

"Yes, I was." At his urging she picked up the case and handed it over to the prophet. Nostradamus took it and opened it looking at the images fondly, "This was my wife Isabelle and our children Jacob, and Leanne."

He held up the images for the others to see, "They died when a vampire broke into our home. I tried to cure them, but you already know there is no cure. To save face I claimed it was another plague that took them, so that they would be buried properly, not treated like monsters."

Closing the case with a click he put the case in his robe pocket, then looked to Van Helsing. "I did not call you here to waste your time or to be mocked by your men! If you want to stop Dracula you will listen to me, and listen well. Travel to Transylvania, head towards the Carpathian Mountains and find the girl to stop Dracula and his curse!"

Lecura did not hear what was said next something else caught her ears, and she looked out the window to the empty street. She saw nothing on the street, but as she glanced up she saw him. A vampire watched from the roof across the street. "Uncle!"

Immediately the conversation stopped and Lecura was rushing for the front door. She heard her uncle giving orders for Wesley, Morris, and Demetri to stay with the prophet as he followed Lecura out the front door. The vampire knew he had been spotted and was running along the roof tops down the street. Thrask, Rorke, and Cordric were close behind the pair trying to keep up with Lecura and Abraham.

There was no time to question why the vampire had been outside the prophet's window, only that he needed to be destroyed. They could question why he was there later. As they ran Lecura noticed her uncle ready his crossbow as they ran. A second later she heard the click and swish as crossbow bolts were shot through the air. She saw one hit the vampire's calf as it hissed and ran down a down a side alley on the roof. Immediately Lecura turned down the alley as her uncle continued straight ahead in an age old move: divide and conquer.

Unfortunately this move was better with more people, however Thrask, Roarke, and Cordric had spotted more un-welcomed guests and sought to end them before they could escape. No one ever claimed vampires stupid, but neither was their group. When no one followed her down the alley she realised that this was most likely a trap, which was why she pulled her short swords as she moved. She followed the trail of blood left by the injured vampire around the corner to the right.

As predicted it did turn into a trap, but one Lecura avoided because the vampire was not stealthy enough about it. He dropped down attempting to catch her, but she rolled out of the way just in time. Getting to her feet, she guessed he had brought friends and was correct for she heard two others land behind her not far away. Three to one odds were not favourable when it meant one human three vampires, to even the odds Lecura threw one of her short swords and nailed the injured vampire in the chest effectively dusting him. Even then she heard the other two rushing her, and rushed forward for her short sword that now laid on the ground.

Lecura reached her second blade and whirled to meet her attackers. She kicked one hard in the chest knocking him back, the other she narrowly dodged as it swung on her. The one she kicked had gotten up and came up behind her catching her in a bear hug. As the one in front of her advanced she kicked him square in the face, then brought her head forward before throwing it back against the vampire's head behind her. It was enough the one behind her let her go and she whirled around with her blade cutting off his head and dusting him.

The other vampire was getting to his feet after being kicked in the face, but just as he moved to attack her, he ended up with a total of three crossbow bolts pinning him to the wall. The vampire thrashed about still alive but silver dipped in holy water hurt like a bitch for vampires. "Who sent you?!"

Lecura turned as her uncle had the crossbow aimed at the injured vampire that was pinned against the alley wall. The vampire growled at her uncle, and so Abraham shot the vampire with a crossbow bolt to the leg making it hiss in pain. "Do not make me ask again. Who sent you?!"

This line of questioning went on like this with the vampire receiving even more bolts in various limbs. "Did Dracula send you?!"

"No...he does not know. We were sent by another." The vampire finally answered.

"And what does this other want?"

"The girl's head, the one the prophet spoke of."

"Thank you for your cooperation." Abraham replied calmly then aimed his crossbow at the vampire's heart and shot the bolt. Both stepped away as calm as ever as the one they questioned turned to dust.

"So Uncle looks like another vampire is moving against Dracula."

"It will not matter, an upstart going against his or her master would not last a second against Dracula." Abraham replied as they left the side alley.

"Still this prophecy has to be something big if we have other vampires trying to act on it." Lecura pointed out.

"Let us get back to the prophet's house. We can discuss this further there." Neither hunter noticed another vampire perched on the roof not far away that had listened in on the interrogation and what was said afterwards. However this vampire had heard enough, and soon disappeared into the night to make his report to his masters.

Meanwhile Lecura and her uncle returned to the house of Nostradamus where they met up with the rest of their group. Thrask, Rorke, and Cordric had returned shortly before them. "And where were you three?"

"Spotted three other vamps on the roofs and hunted them down." Thrask spoke up.

"Any talkers?" Abraham asked.

"Nah they are dust now." Rorke replied, so Abraham and the group went back inside.

"Any action here?" Abraham asked the group that remained with the prophet.

"Nope boring as hell here." Morris sniffed.

"Well looks like other parties are curious about the girl you mentioned, but not Dracula." Abraham replied turning to the prophet.

"Even beasts seek power beyond their stations." Nostradamus pointed out.

"Regardless one girl will not stop Dracula." Abraham replied, "Besides our place is here. Unless you have something more to stop the monster." When the prophet said nothing the group turned and started to leave.

"Then you condemn us all to his curse, including the girl." Lecura turned to look at the prophet in the chair, and he looked right at her. "The beast will find her, and I fear how much she will suffer due to everyone's inaction."

The prophet knew just what to say to get Lecura thinking about it, she followed her group from the prophets house back to the inn. However she kept silent as she considered what their lack of action meant. Just how would this girl Nostradamus spoke of suffer at that monsters hands? Would he turn her? Would he kill her family? Rape her? Would she suffer countless life times all because people choose to ignore a prophecy?

Somehow she found herself back at the Inn in a seat by her uncle staring at her drink, until her uncle sighed. "I can literally hear the wheels in your head turning."

Those words stopped their companions too as the group looked at Lecura wondering what she was thinking about. Finally she sighed. "I think we should go."

"Go? You mean to Romania for some girl?!" Morris asked as if she were crazy. "You actually believe that gibberish?!"

"I did not say I believe in prophecy, Morris! However if it is true which the vampires we fought tonight obviously think it is true, then..." Lecura trailed off to gather her thoughts and sighed, "Then we are condemning her to a fate worse then death. What if what Nostradamus said is true? What if Dracula gets his hands on this girl? Uncle you know what could very well happen! The beast could do any number of horrors to her, and by the end of it she may very well wish for death."

Abraham groaned as he rubbed his face, he knew Lecura was right but had been hoping she would not bring it up. Still having the words spoken aloud, the vampire hunter knew that if he did nothing he would regret it. Because at the end of the day more often then not Lecura was the voice of reason, and the reminder of what they should do to save lives. So as always he looked to Rorke knowing Rorke would be thinking the same things he was in that instance. Both men could picture some poor hapless girl, her family slaughtered and she dragged to Dracula's castle to suffer for all eternity. Finally Abraham sighed. "Rorke?"

Rorke looked to Lecura then groaned. "Damn it you know she is right, Abe. We do nothing and this girl whoever she is, is going to suffer for it!"

Abraham looked to the rest of his crew to get their approval and disapproval, since his 'advisor's' had spoken. Thrask, Cordric, Demetri, and Wesley were agreeing and as usual Morris was the disapproving one. Sadly Morris was outvoted yet again, so Abraham sighed. "Alright I will contact the prophet in the morning, and make arrangements with him."

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><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>

**Alright as said chapter three.**

**Now before anyone asks I did do research to make sure I was accurate with history. Nostradamus was an actual prophet in France during that time and was a royal physician I read up on him. I also did it this way because the vampire hunting group is in France at the time, and they would need a strong reason to head for Romania to seek out Dracula. **

**As said Dracula in this story is extremely hard to kill, it takes from the movie Van Helsing. In that story there was only one true way to kill Dracula. Anyway I hope you like this chapter and I hope to read your reviews.**


	4. Darker Places

**Hello all,**

**Here is chapter 4 of the Dracula story. Sorry it took so long to post it.**

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><p><strong>Transylvania, days later...<strong>

Deep in the Carpathian mountains and built into the side of a mountain lay the fortress where the creature known as Dracula dwelt along with his followers. Part of the castle was built inside the mountain to house the vampires from daylight. The other half was for the night and looked like any other castle. However it was high up into the mountains and hidden away from humans that would seek to hunt the vampires down. Those humans that were too brave or too stupid to turn back could eventually find the hidden castle, but they never returned from the venture. Leading many to believe that finding Dracula's castle was a fool's errand. Besides only a fool would seek out Dracula after all he was an evil monster that hated the living. While it was true that he hated humans and cared little Vlad Tepes as he was once known had good reasons for what he did, or at least to him he had good reason. Dressed in black leather trousers, boots, and belt with a black tunic he moved about his halls. Usually he wondered to think and dwell on what he wanted most. More than blood or life he wanted his bride, his Elora. He had close to over one-hundred years to dwell on her and he would do so for eternity.

However today his thoughts turned to a minor problem, one easily fixed. A minor group of lords thought to gain his powers after hearing a ridiculous rumour of a prophet. Still as master he could not allow for _any _threat to his rule, even a minor one. Minor threats tend to snowball and become larger threats if allowed. So he sent a spy to France to learn the nature of the threat, and hopefully soon he would know of it. Sure enough Vlad turned as he heard the tap of boots approaching from the other end of the corridor. It was his Captain, Aiden. The older grizzled man now bore a scar on his cheek from before being turned a lasting reminder of the loyalty the captain displayed. The captain as always wore black armour and held a note in his hand.

"My lord, message from France. Our spy found the prophet."

"And?"

"And he was talking to a group of vampire hunters about his little prophecy." Vlad gave a short laugh knowing Aiden thought prophecies to be equally ridiculous.

"Let me guess they found some holy relic to send me to hell. Some sacred cross, or ancient weapon. The spear of Christ perhaps?"

"No my lord, the prophet claimed the weapon of choice to be a girl of all things." Aiden scoffed, then smiled as Vlad burst out laughing, then both straightened as Vlad's expression darkened.

"There is only one who could have been used as a weapon against me, and she was murdered by those wretches I tried to protect."

"I know my lord." Aiden said bowing, Vlad shook his head.

"What else? The other vampires sent by those that oppose me?"

"They were spotted by the group of hunters. In fact I believe your rivals slipped up. They thought to ambush the hunters not thinking how skilled they were." Aiden replied.

"Well then the problem solves itself." Vlad turned to walk away, but Aiden sighed.

"Not quite my lord. That very group of hunters believed the silly prophecy, they are heading here." Aiden said and Vlad groaned as he turned back to his captain.

"Do we know anything about these hunters?"

"They are led by one Professor Abraham Van Helsing, my lord. According to what we have gathered he is one of the best as are his team of seven other hunters."

"Hmph! Eight professional Vampire hunters coming here to die, more like." Vlad replied.

"It does look that way my lord. How do you wish to proceed?" Aiden asked as Vlad stopped and thought a moment.

"Let them come, and since this Van Helsing is such a well known hunter he can become legendary for dying by my hand."

"Of course my lord." Aiden nodded with a smile, then frowned, "As ridiculous as it sounds. What of this prophecy?"

"What of it indeed? I doubt it will come to anything, Aiden. After all this girl the prophet speaks of, is not Elora." With that Vlad stepped away to continue his walk not for a mere second thinking that the silly prophecy could in any way be real, that this girl could do anything to even phase him.

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><p><strong>Months later...<strong>

Weeks travelling to the opposite end of France then on a boat for months was tiresome for many, especially since their group was not the only Vampire hunting group called to action due to the prophet's prediction. To say Lecura hated working with other hunter groups was an understatement. Being a woman meant being looked down on by men she did not even know. Despite cutting her hair to shoulder length and dressing as a man, it was obvious she was a young woman. For the most part she could ignore lewd looks and comments from the other fools that were stupid enough to call themselves hunters. Her team including Abe were also ignoring it for the most part, mainly because she said she would handle the other hunters herself. Besides what better way to put fool's in their place then by being beaten senseless by a girl? Lecura knew it was only a matter of time before one was stupid enough to try something with her.

After all men at sea starved of female company made for stupid idiots. Sure enough towards the end of the voyage another hunter tried to corner her. She never bothered to get the fool's name, only that he stared at her ass too much and disgusted her. She had been sitting at a table sharpening her blades, the other hunter groups were eating at their own tables in the small dining hall on the ship. Occasionally different ones would look her way and leer at her or make lewd comments suggesting she would be fun in bed. The one idiot that liked to watch her ass finally got up and went over to her table, and right then she was choosing to ignore him as she ran the whetstone slowly along her blade. "Hey sweetheart, I got a blade ya can sharpen right here."

Some of his friends laughed as Lecura continued as though not hearing him. "Did ya hear me, bitch?"

"Oh I heard you, I just chose to ignore you. That disgusting thing you call a blade should be permanently removed since it is so dull." Lecura answered as she looked up at the man with an ice cold glare.

"Lecura? Is there a problem?" Rorke asked as he had come into the dining hall.

"No problem Rorke I can handle this." Lecura answered not wanting Rorke to help her, long ago she determined that if she received any aid while putting down a fool that his friends would not get the hint.

"Oh she will handle it alright!" That was when the hunter made the mistake, he grabbed her wrist. His other mistake was coming at her when she was armed, once pulled from her chair the hunter never saw it coming. She spun as though dancing with him and twisted his arm behind his back to where he immediately let go of her wrist and she slammed him face first onto the table. Holding his arm behind his back and in a very painful angle, her other hand held a blade between his legs.

"One move from you or your friends and I not only make you a women but I will show you how it would feel to have a real blade violate you!" Lecura replied violently cold. His friends had stopped laughing and stared stunned as did the other fools that had made comments about her. A wave of tension came over the hall, but the threat she had given kept each of the groups in their seats. The man whimpered as he felt the blade's tip threatening him. "Still think I would be easy to bed? Or that I would be begging for it?!"

The questions were not just directed at the man she had pinned, she was throwing their earlier comments back at them. "Maybe I should make an example of you for them? Hmmm? A cautionary and gruesome reminder not to cross me again!"

"Please! I am sorry!" The man actually started crying, and he called himself a hunter? Lecura was not sure what was more pathetic the man begging her not to hurt him or the fact that he wet himself.

"Pathetic!" Lecura replied disgusted, "and you are suppose to be a vampire hunter?! What do you do when faced with a vampire?! Cry like a girl and distract it while others attack?!"

"He-he is new, a new recruit." One of the others at the table spoke up, and she looked at the man with a raised brow. Lecura could not help but scoff at the sorry excuse of a man she still had pinned on the table.

"Hmph! I give him a day before he gets ripped to pieces by a vampire if that! He will not survive in this business!" Lecura replied looking at the men still sat at their tables, then released the coward. "Go home little girl!"

Taking up her blades and whetstones, Lecura stepped around the puddle with a wrinkled nose to Rorke who was shaking with laughter while trying to keep a straight face. "What?"

"That was priceless!" Rorke burst out laughing, "He pissed himself! Wow Lec you have scared men senseless before but to see one piss his pants?! That is going in the record books!" From there the pair left the hall with Rorke still laughing. At least now the other hunters knew not to cross her, not that she would have to deal with them much longer. Stepping out on deck Rorke led her to the rest of the team still laughing about the incident in the meal hall. In the distance was Romania. As she looked at the land deemed cursed, Lecura felt a shiver run down her spine. All the while Rorke told the others what she did in the meal hall. Her uncle laughed and patted her on the back proud of her, then noticed her lack of reaction.

"Is it what you expected?" Abe asked.

"No it seems... darker more ominous than I first thought it would be." Lecura answered, wondering if this land always looked so deary. Here she thought England was a dreary place to live, this place had England beat. Who in their right mind would want to willingly live here? Aside from being a cursed land it to her looked cursed.

"You are the one that said 'we should save the girl'." Morris grumbled, then eyed the land annoyed. All the while Lecura sighed wishing to ignore their resident complainer. At least soon they would be off the stinking boat, and Lecura would be away from the other hunters and sailors. While it was gently recommended that the groups of hunters team up by Nostradamus, Abe had soon decided against it. He needed professional vampire hunters not amateurs. Some of the other groups on the boat were more professional then others, but the other reason was because they underestimated Lecura. He needed people with better sense than that, at least his team knew better than to think her incapable. As the land drew closer, the group gathered their gear, and Abe decided they would take a different route from the other groups. As the ship docked in the harbour and the group stepped off the boat and into the land of the master vampire.

On entering the village the group moved along not staying very long in one place. Abe only stopped long enough to see about horses and provisions for the trip. The other groups of hunters that had come to pit themselves against Dracula had already left, by the main road. So their group would take one of the roads less travelled to reach their destination in the morning. By the time they had purchased the horses and provisions it was late afternoon, and one of the policies of Abe's was to never travel at night or camp out if possible. Instead they lodged in one of the smaller Inns where not too many people stayed. The dining hall was virtually empty so the group could discuss the plan more freely.

It was after eating a nice well cooked meal, that Abe decided now was a good time to talk, so when the bar maid cleared away the dishes Abe rolled out a map of Romania. "Alright as you know soon we will be leaving this village. Our route will take us through Wallachia north towards Transylvania and the Carpathian Mountains. From here it is easily a couple of weeks journey to our destination. The rumoured birthplace of Dracula, Sighisoara."

"Hmph, talk about irony." Morris scoffed, and Abe chose to ignore it.

"It is here we have been told we will find the girl, but every leg of the journey we will have to be careful. Dracula rules these lands still."

"Boss how large is this village Sighisoara?" Rorke finally asked pointing to the map where said village was.

"It is pretty good sized anywhere from fifty to eighty strong." Abe replied.

"Great and half of those will be women, anyone of those girls could be the one Dracula will want." Thrask pointed out.

"I know just before we left the prophet told you more directly where the girl could be found uncle, but did he describe her? Give some detail to help find her?" Lecura finally asked.

"He gave me a description of an area just outside of the town where the girl will be found on the night of an eclipsing blood moon just before first frost in a clearing." Abe said hating the lack of details.

"Great so we have to wait for a girl to show up to know who she is." Thrask said annoyed.

"So what is the plan?" Demetri finally spoke up.

"We find the girl, and get her as far away as possible." Abe stated simply.

"That is it?" Morris asked disappointed that the only thing they were doing was rescuing some girl.

"That is it. We are not here to fight an impossible foe. You forget this is Dracula we are talking about not some random noble vampire, but the master himself. So our job is to keep this girl safe from that monster, nothing more. Let the other fool hunters throw themselves at this creature if they wish." Abe said, then continued to chart out the path they would take to reach the village. Towards the end Abe looked at his crew. "Get some rest, we leave at dawn and make for the next village over."

Immediately the crew rose from their chairs and went to their rooms. The group had been split into pairs to share rooms: Abe and Rorke were in the first room down the hall. Then it was Lecura and Demetri, followed by Thrask and Cordric, and lastly Wesley drew the short end of the stick and was bunked with Morris.

Abe came in and laid down on the bed, and perhaps could have easily dosed off if not for Rorke who laid down in the other bed by the window. "You sure letting Demetri bunk with Lec is a good idea?"

"My niece can handle herself." Abe replied not about to let the question bother him.

"Yes but she is with Demetri, and he is a charmer."

"Rorke you are talking about Lecura. The girl that says she would rather die then let a man touch her." Abe said.

"Yeah I suppose you are right, still she says those words now. Just wait until she meets someone she really likes." Rorke replied lying back on his bed.

"If said someone survives her and I do not put some crossbow bolts in him." Abe said after a moment getting a short laugh from Rorke. However to Abe he never needed to worry, Lecura was too wilful and feisty. Besides when she was old enough Abe had dreaded it but sat her down to have the _talk. _That very unsettling conversation mothers had with daughters, and fathers had with sons. It had been then that Abe had felt out of his element, he was stumbling through the talk until Lecura stopped him by saying: _"Uncle please stop, you never need worry about me getting involved with someone. Truth be told I would rather die then ever let a man touch me, if I have my way I will die a virgin."_

At the time the words coming from the girl he raised had embarrassed him, especially the words 'I' and 'virgin' placed in the same sentence. Now the words served as comfort when he worried over her, besides Demetri while a charmer had more respect for Lecura then to try anything. Normal girls Lecura's age were married with children or children on the way, but with his niece that type of life was not suited to her. So Lecura being alone in a room with another man never bothered the vampire hunter, even if in society it was looked at as scandalous. Normal Society? To him in their line of work Vampire Hunters were as far outside normal as one could possibly get. There was nothing normal about vampire hunters and even less for vampires, so he could care less about normal society. With that thought in mind Abe rolled over and closed his eyes dosing off to sleep.

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><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>

**Well I hope you liked this latest chapter. Just wanted to note some things for you, mainly the scene where Lecura takes a rival hunter down a peg or two. I wanted to establish the OC as being a stronger more independent character. Sadly what I find annoying about a lot of the Dracula stories is that the female lead is portrayed as being weak or defenceless. So I wanted to make the female lead much stronger and at times like in the previous chapters and future chapters I will try and show just how she differs from other girls in the Dracula stories. **

**Furthermore I have seen Dracula Untold and must say: AWESOME! I did like that story and everything. Luke Evans as Dracula is HOT! **

**Anyway enjoy the chapter and please review away.**


	5. The Path Less Travelled

**Hello all,**

**Well here is chapter 5, please enjoy and see the comments in Author's Notes.**

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><p>The next morning it was raining as the group left the Inn and packed to leave. It added to the testament that Romania could be just as gloomy and miserable as other place, but perhaps it was like this because this was the Vampire master's homeland. After all Lecura did not want to believe that this land was naturally so bad, preferring instead to think that it was the evil presence causing the heavy rain and darkened clouds. Regardless it was miserable weather to travel in, and even if it did not let up they still were travelling in it. Mounting up, Lecura pulled her hood up as they rode from the village. As with any unfamiliar terrain the group had studied their intended path to cut down on time and avoid stopping to consult the map. As usual Abe led the way, and Morris took up the rear, mainly because if Morris was in the middle the group suffered an earful of complaints.<p>

The only thing that really slowed the group down was the fact that this route was certainly less travelled. It made the path less visible because so few had gone this way, and some of the signs or markers were old and weathered, one of them was so worn it was hard to make out what it said. Luckily it was not all bad, and by mid-day the rain had stopped leaving nothing but dark clouds overhead. Finally Lecura sighed, "You would think the sun could peek through once in a while."

"I get the feeling the sun does not like this forsaken place." Rorke pointed out.

"This land is cursed. Living proof was yesterday did you see that barmaid?" Morris called from the back, different ones looked back at Morris as though to ask him: 'What about the barmaid?' Instead Morris howled like a wolf at the moon getting a few of them to laugh.

"I fail to see how the land is cursed because of the looks of one barmaid." Demetri spoke up.

"The women here are dogs!" Morris pointed out.

"You say that about every land we have been to Morris." Thrask laughed.

"The women in France are..." Cordric started and was mimicking Morris' voice and got the whole group to say, "Dogs!"

"The women in Spain are..." Rorke added again mimicking Morris, and as before the entire group said, "Dogs!"

"The women in England are..." Thrask started mimicking Morris.

"Hey!" Lecura replied, "I am from England and a woman."

"No you are not!" Morris teased, "You are a..." He trailed off trying to think, then called to their leader. "Hey Abe what is this runt that travels with us? She can not be a girl, right?"

Abe was up ahead trying to keep from shaking with laughter at the groups banter. Instead Rorke answered. "Morris has a point she dresses like a boy, acts like a boy. Therefore she must be..."

"A boy!" The group cheered.

"Haha! Very funny!" Lecura replied, then smirked, "Well if I am a boy then Morris is a girl! He certainly complains like one!"

"Hey!" Morris retorted.

"You know she has a point." Wesley finally joined in, getting the others to laugh.

"Maybe we can destroy Dracula. Hear me out on this one. We go to the clearing, dress Morris up in a pink dress and when Dracula lowers his guard we strike!" Thrask suggested getting the others to laugh as they rode along. The playful banter helped to make the days travelling go that much faster.

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><p>Deep in the heart of the hidden fortress known as Dracula's castle, Dracula sat in his throne room deep in thought. He had been receiving reports regularly on the arrival of the vampire hunters. They have come by way of the Black Sea and were currently making their way up through Wallachia. His spies also managed to find the fools that were plotting against him. So here he sat waiting, finally he heard Captain Aiden and his men practically dragging the upstarts to the double doors before the doors opened. His captain was dragging the man and threw him to the steps leading to Dracula's thrown, his family was soon tossed there too. Dracula peeked over at his advisor Femris. The advisor was an older sly man with cold calculating eyes and white-grey hair. Then Dracula looked back at the nobleman and his family more carefully.<p>

Lord Renfield looked the part of a slimy weasel with slimy looking dark brown hair, and a gaunt face. He had always been greedy, but never had Dracula thought him to be stupid until now. Lady Renfield looked terrified with dirty blonde hair, and might have been pretty once. However she was also an ambitious one which led to her married to her snake of a husband. Dracula's eyes at last trailed to the girl held tightly in Lady Renfield's arms, their daughter. Unlike her parents the daughter seemed to be oblivious to her father's dealings.

Rising to his feet Dracula came down the steps towards the family until he stood only a few feet from them. "You have been busy Renfield. You had to have known I would find out about you."

"M—my lord I do not know what you mean. I—I—I am loyal-" Before he could finish he was backhanded by Dracula and now cowered clutching his jaw.

"Lying to me is a mistake Renfield! I know you sent spies to France over some silly prophet and his ridiculous prophecy!"

"M-m—my lord I—I assure you, I was only trying to find out if the prophecy was a threat to your rule."

"Aiden the next time Renfield lies take off his wife's head!" Dracula said.

"Yes my lord." Aiden replied drawing his sword.

"Alright! I sent those men to find out what they could. I ordered them to bring me the item that could weaken or kill you." Renfield confessed.

"Then you have wasted your chance to stab me in the back, the 'item' is a girl as if that mattered!" Dracula replied, "No instead your men have caught the attention of Vampire hunters to come here."

"Then allow me to repent for my horrible attempt on you. I will send men to kill these hunters." Renfield tried causing Dracula to laugh before straightening.

"No, I will be handling the hunters myself. Captain take Renfield and his family outside and have them executed." Dracula ordered, the captain moved to do as ordered.

"Wait my lord please! There is more, please spare my family and I will tell you." Renfield begged, he knew it! Of course he had known Renfield to be withholding information. Dracula turned back to the noble that was on his knees and gestured for Aiden to wait.

"It will depend on what you tell me. If the information is worth it then your family will be spared." Dracula said waiting.

"I had received word, someone contacted me from within this castle and told me of the prophecy. Of the girl, I do not know who it was; but they wanted me to know. It was shortly after I sent men to France that I was told of the girl. I have sent men to kill her when she enters that clearing."

"Clearing?" Dracula asked looking at Renfield.

"Yes my lord the prophet only told where she could be found to the hunters, but someone here also knows where she will be found and when." Dracula seemed to be thinking as he considered what Renfield had told him. The point of concern was not this girl's location, but the fact that they had a traitor within the walls. It did not take long to reach the conclusion that if the traitors were so dead set in getting to this girl, he could use her to catch the traitors. "Very well tell me where we can find this girl and when, and your family will be spared."

Renfield pulled out a scroll and handed it to Dracula who looked it over carefully, then nodded. "Captain release Lady Renfield and their daughter. They are free to go."

Aiden nodded, then had his men take Lord Renfield away to be executed.

"My lord I thought you said the girl did not matter." Femris finally spoke up calmly.

"You are correct Femris she does not. However the traitor in these walls does, and the traitor wants to use her. I am inclined to deny what the traitor desires. Besides I already want to kill the hunters, what better place?" Dracula asked.

"And this girl, my lord?" Aiden asked.

"She hardly matters, though with everyone so concerned that she will be my undoing I am curious."

"My lord tempting fate is dangerous and risky." Femris pointed out.

"Oh live a little Femris it is not as though I will be in danger of her." Dracula replied, "Besides I might be thirsty after dealing with the hunters and need a drink." Finally he handed the scroll to Aiden. "Keep a close track on the hunters and find the area described on this scroll."

"Yes my lord." Aiden said bowing and leaving immediately to follow through with his orders, "Femris try to find out who contacted Renfield. We need to find the source of this treachery."

"Of course my lord." Femris said bowing and leaving Dracula to his thoughts. He decided he would let Renfield's men attack first, then destroy them all in one fell swoop. Perhaps he would kill this girl first to show the vampire hunters and Renfield's men how pathetic their attempts were. Drive the message home that it was all for nothing. _'Yes I like the sound of that. Show them how meaningless their deaths will be before they die.' _

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><p>For the most part the journey to Sighisoara was uneventful, as Abe made sure the group stopped in villages and Inns. The people here were highly paranoid though, understandable when you are ruled by a monster. Often Abe had to delve into his knowledge of languages and explain that they were Vampire Hunters, then the Inns would be opened to them. More often then not the second the sun went down the doors were locked and barred. The windows closed, the curtains drawn. It was a mixture of amusing and sad; amusing because the Inn keepers at times did silly things to keep the vampires away including placing reeds of Garlic at the windows and doors. Sad because it showed how much in fear the people were of this beast, one Innkeeper claimed Dracula liked virgin girls and had his daughters locked in the basement hidden away once darkness fell. As if any of this would stop a vampire or Dracula if he so choose to show himself.<p>

It was equally sad because they were not here to slay the master vampire only to take a girl to safety. More than anything Lecura wanted to slay the black hearted monster she wanted to avenge those who were dead because of him. But since she could not she would settle for denying the beast this girl and keep her safe.

However the journey was not completely event free a few times the group was late getting to a village and encountered the odd vampire. Nothing too strenuous or demanding, but still the encounters grew more and more frequent. Mostly Lecura got the feeling the odd vampire they encountered was more of a test then anything, for at times it felt like they were being watched.

Eventually though the group made it to Sighisoara which was not much comfort as the village looked like it had seen better days. In fact it looked run down and a feeling of hopelessness and despair made Lecura want to gag. _'Why does it feel like this is where hope goes to die?' _She wondered as they quietly rode through town. The people had come out to see the newcomers for a brief moment and many were scurrying back inside unwilling to risk themselves against a potential danger. Eventually a thin balding man came out and was speaking in the native tongue, he sounded nervous which was all Lecura could tell. She was not as well versed in languages as her Uncle who knew several from his travels. No she knew French, Gaelic, and some Italian, so she let Abe do all the talking and was obviously calming the village leader down as he explained they were Vampire Hunters.

Instead she looked around and noticed more reeds of Garlic, and crosses obviously to ward off Dracula and his minions. "He says the other groups of hunters arrived two days ago and are at the Inn up the road. Some were foolish and camped outside, not all the hunters made it this far."

Hearing her Uncle explain, Lecura looked at Abe thinking what fools they must have been to think they could wonder about after dark in such a dangerous place. "Did they find the clearing where this girl is suppose to be?"

"Not sure they only arrived a few days ago and some are still recovering from injuries. They may not have had the chance to look." Abe answered. "We will go to the Inn see what can be done and rest. In the morning we can look for the clearing."

Abe turned back to the man saying something that she guessed was thank you and they rode on towards the Inn, and stables. Dismounting the group took their gear and came into the Inn where some of the hunter groups were already in the main room. However not all crews were from the boat, the main dining hall had a number of hunters eating and drinking. As Abe booked them some rooms to stay in Lecura looked around more carefully at the groups and moved further into the Inn. These ones seemed smarter more professional, they were drinking, but not as heavily. Plus as more looked to the bar where her group stood the quieter they got finally noticing the new arrivals.

"_Hmph More hunters, hopefully this group has more sense." _One of the men grumbled from the table with a lovely French accent. Lecura caught the eye of the Frenchmen with black curly hair.

"_Enough sense to know when someone talks about us as well as when to watch the person very closely." _Lecura replied in French then smirked at him.

"You speak French, and have a lovely accent as well. Are you the other hunters from the boat?" He asked.

"Yes we are. We took a different route to avoid dying with fools that preferred to travel at night." Lecura answered, earning her a smile from the man.

"What is your name?" He asked.

"Lecura Winters."

"Lecura? Strange name."

"Yes it would be, it is the name I choose for myself." Lecura answered.

"Was the name your parents gifted you with not enough?" As he took a drink of his ale.

"No it was a lovely name, but for another life one that I gave up. So you can simply call me Lecura, and you? What is your name?" Lecura asked.

"My name is Julien Lefèvre, and the rabble you see here is my team."

"Why did you not take the boat?" Lecura asked.

"We came down through the Netherlands." Julien explained. Lecura felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to face her Uncle. Abe smiled at Julien before looking to his niece.

"The rooms are booked and we are going to get some food." Abe said gesturing at the table in the far corner before heading that way. Again Lecura stood alone as she looked back at Julien.

"Your father?" Julien asked.

"My uncle." Lecura corrected.

"Well I had best let you go and have dinner. It was a pleasure to meet you, Lady Lecura." Julien said as he had risen from his seat and took her hand bring it to his lips to press a gentle kiss there. He continued to stare into her eyes during the kiss then grinned before speaking in French. _"I hope we will see more of each other in the future."_

"_Me too. It was a pleasure meeting you Julien." _With that Lecura turned and headed for the table where her companions now sat. There they ordered food and relaxed after a lengthy journey to get there. Yet their work was only just beginning.

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><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>

**Okay so here is chapter 5 and some notes on the chapter.**

**First off thank you for the reviews, and I hope you enjoyed this latest addition. Next I would like to point out the funny banter the group has. One of the biggest things I wanted to point was not just that Lecura is a badass but that the group is pretty close. To establish that they have known and worked together a long time and have formed bonds. **

**The other thing I wanted to note was the scene with Dracula, I wanted to make him a bit more darker and ruthless in some cases compared to others that have portrayed him. Yes he can be kind and compassionate, but that is not always how he will react. He will have a temper to him and if crossed he can be quit vicious towards those that cross him. Hence the whole scene with Renfield and his family and how even though Lord Renfield gave good information it was only ever going to be enough to save his family not him. I am not doing the 100% cuddly vampire here.**

**Lastly the scene with the new character Julien. He was not in the cast list, but I sort of added him as an afterthought. For those seeking an actors face to place in as the characters Luke Evans is the one I pictured. Besides he already played a Frenchman in the Three Musketeers, LOL. Also furthermore I thought it was a good chance to bring up Lecura's unique and otherwise weird name. Yes it is revealed that she did haver a 'normal' name, but as she said it was a name for a different life. Having said that it will be revealed in more detail why she choose to rename herself later on, but for now the hint is good enough. No one likes 'spoilers'.**

**That said please feel free to review away.**

**Lesliein**


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